H-Mart Is Here!

Having made the mistake of buying a new brand of rice the last time I was at BJ's, which ended up being horrible (yellow, having many discolored grains, tasting slightly salty and worst of all - not cooking sticky), I finally was motivated to brave the crowds at H-Mart in Burlington:

Saying this place was crowded was an understatement - they had three cops I could see directing traffic in the parking lot and cars were parked in every available legal and illegal space!

Calling this place the Asian Mecca would not be understatement - H-Mart was swarming with loads of Koreans (as it's a Korean grocery chain from the NY/NJ area that I first experienced on a trip in August) but also with many nationalities - the aisles were as packed as the parking lot:

I have to admit, it was just too crowded for me to be motivated to check out all the aisles - but I did love the corner devoted specifically to kimchi - they had ladies on hand making fresh kimchi:

There were so many options available that it was hard for me to make a decision:

I walked out with two 20 lb. bags of rice (I decided to save the 50 lb. bag of rice for when Andrew's with me to lift it into the cart), marinated chicken bulgogi for dinner, three different types of kimchi, vegetable gyoza dumplings, and most importantly - Korean ice cream! I was excited to see that H-Mart carries one of my and Amy's favorite childhood ice cream bars (chestnut flavor) as well as the ice cream cones that Andrew likes.

In true Korean fashion - as I remember supermarkets in Korea doing when visiting my parents - shoppers were given a free gift when exiting H-Mart. I think it depended on how much you spent, but my purchase qualified me for a free five pack of Shin ramen (only the best and most famous ramen from Korea) and a package of roasted chestnuts, which looks interesting:

I highly recommend checking out H-Mart, as it is HUGE, has reasonable prices and most importantly, carries a wide selection of items that I haven't seen outside Korea. It kicks Super 88 in the butt, there is simply no comparison. Just make sure you go on a weeknight, as I don't think this place will ever be calm on the weekends. I intend on going again soon to check out the food court and bakery when it's a little calmer.